Zamenhof’s initial work on Esperanto, the “Unua Libro,” or “First Book,” was published in 1887. It contained 920 roots from which tens of thousands of words could be formed, along with the Fundamental Grammar, or “Fundamenta Gramatiko,” which listed 16 basic grammatical rules. Zamenhof renounced all rights to Esperanto and encouraged comments and suggestions on the development of the language. In 1905, the first Universal Esperanto Congress (La Unua Universala Esperanto Kongreso) was held at Boulogne-sur-Mer. Six hundred eighty-eight people showed up to discuss their new language in their new language, and at least one convention has been held every year since then, with the exception of the cumulative 10 years of the two World Wars. Conventions remain the major feature of the Esperanto speakers’ social calendar. [3]

Today Esperanto is the most widely used international auxiliary language and is particularly popular in Eastern Europe, China, and Brazil. There are approximately 1,000 native speakers, while 10,000 people can speak it fluently, 100,000 can use it actively, and about 10 million have studied it to some extent. Esperanto literature includes books, magazines, and poetry, with some originally written in Esperanto while others were translated into Esperanto from other languages. Some radio stations broadcast Esperanto news bulletins, and there have been at least four full-length feature films in the language, including the 1966 horror flick “Incubus” starring William Shatner. While definitely an active language, it never caught on to the extent that Zamenhof hoped.

What does Esperanto as a written language look like? Here’s one example: